כשהיא מארחת את אחותה, היא תמיד שמה גם תה וגם כיבוד קטן על השולחן.

כשהיא means when she.

It is made of:

• כש־ = when
• היא = she

So:

• כשהיא מארחת את אחותה = when she hosts her sister

A very common Hebrew pattern is:

• כש + subject + verb = when + subject + verb

For example:

• כשהוא בא = when he comes
• כשהם אוכלים = when they eat

Because Hebrew often uses an explicit subject pronoun in the present tense, especially for clarity.

The sentence has two clauses:

1. כשהיא מארחת את אחותה = when she hosts her sister
2. היא תמיד שמה... = she always puts...

In Hebrew present tense, verbs like מארחת and שמה show gender and number, but not person as clearly as English finite verbs do. So adding היא helps make the subject clear.

The second היא is not unusual at all. It makes the sentence sound natural and clear.

מארחת is the feminine singular present-tense form of the verb לארח, meaning to host or to entertain.

Here are the present-tense forms:

• מארח = hosting / hosts (masculine singular)
• מארחת = hosting / hosts (feminine singular)
• מארחים = hosting / host (masculine plural / mixed plural)
• מארחות = hosting / host (feminine plural)

Because the subject is היא (she), Hebrew uses the feminine singular form:

• היא מארחת

את is the Hebrew direct object marker. It appears before a definite direct object.

In this sentence:

• אחותה = her sister

This is definite, because it refers to a specific person: her sister.

So Hebrew says:

• מארחת את אחותה = hosts her sister

Important: את usually does not mean anything by itself in English. It is a grammar marker, not a separate translated word.

Compare:

• היא מארחת אחות = she hosts a sister / a sister-like guest idea, indefinite and unusual in context
• היא מארחת את אחותה = she hosts her sister, definite

אחותה is built from:

• אחות = sister
• ־ה = her

So:

• אחותה = her sister

This is a possessive suffix, which is very common in Hebrew.

Similar examples:

• אמא = mother

• אמה = her mother

• ספר = book
• ספרה = her book

In this sentence, אחותה refers to her sister.

Here it is from the verb לשים, meaning to put.

So:

• היא שמה תה על השולחן = she puts tea on the table

You are right that שמה can also mean her name in other contexts:

• שמה דינה = her name is Dina

So Hebrew has two different words that are written the same way:

• שָׂמָה = she put / she puts
• שְׁמָהּ (usually written the same in everyday unpointed text) = her name

Context tells you which one is meant. In this sentence, because it is followed by things being placed on the table, it clearly means puts.

In Hebrew present tense, the verb form often functions like puts / is putting, depending on context.

So שמה can mean:

• she puts
• she is putting

In this sentence, because of תמיד (always), the meaning is habitual:

• היא תמיד שמה... = she always puts...

That makes puts the best English translation here.

גם... וגם... means both... and... or sometimes also... and also...

In the sentence:

• גם תה וגם כיבוד קטן = both tea and a small snack/refreshment

This is a very common Hebrew structure:

• גם קפה וגם תה = both coffee and tea
• גם הוא וגם היא = both he and she

So here the speaker is emphasizing that she puts two things on the table:

1. tea
2. a small refreshment/snack

כיבוד is a useful cultural vocabulary word. It often means:

• refreshments
• something to serve a guest
• light snack
• treat offered to visitors

It does not necessarily mean a full meal.

So:

• כיבוד קטן = a small refreshment, a little snack, or a small treat for guests

In many Hebrew-speaking contexts, כיבוד can refer to things like:

• cookies
• cake
• fruit
• nuts
• pastries
• light snacks served with tea or coffee

So the phrase sounds very natural in the context of hosting someone.

על השולחן means on the table.

It contains:

• על = on
• ה־שולחן = the table

Hebrew often uses the definite article ה־ where English uses the.

So:

• שולחן = a table / table
• השולחן = the table

In this sentence, it means a specific table in the situation, so the table is natural:

• על השולחן = on the table

תמיד means always, and Hebrew adverbs like this often come before the verb.

So:

• היא תמיד שמה = she always puts

This word order is very natural in Hebrew.

You may also hear slightly different word orders in spoken Hebrew, but the version in the sentence is standard and common.

Sometimes yes, but in the present tense Hebrew often keeps pronouns for clarity.

For example, you might hear:

• כשמארחת את אחותה, תמיד שמה...

But that sounds less complete and less natural in most ordinary contexts, because present-tense forms like מארחת and שמה do not clearly mark I/you/she the way past and future forms often do.

So the full version with היא is the safest and most natural for learners:

• כשהיא מארחת את אחותה, היא תמיד שמה...

Usually hosts is the best basic translation here.

לארח can mean:

• to host
• to have someone over
• to entertain a guest

In this sentence, since she is serving tea and snacks to her sister, hosts fits very well.

So:

• כשהיא מארחת את אחותה = when she hosts her sister
  or more naturally in English:
• when she has her sister over

It describes a habit.

The clues are:

• כשהיא... = when she...
• תמיד = always
• present-tense verbs: מארחת, שמה

So the meaning is something like:

• Whenever she hosts her sister, she always puts both tea and a small snack on the table.

Even though Hebrew uses present tense, the sentence expresses a repeated, regular action.